


Comp Psy

by laurel_crown



Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Gen, Mutant Powers, Self-Discovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-29
Updated: 2015-06-29
Packaged: 2018-04-06 18:52:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4232943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurel_crown/pseuds/laurel_crown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young man is caught between two opposing sides in a mutant fight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comp Psy

**Author's Note:**

> This is a shameless mashing together of characters from different time periods, but I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I did!

The first thing Nick noticed was the dust. It had curled into his throat until he woke, coughing, each spasm making his head thrum like an old processor. He lay still until the static in his ears had faded, and tried to remember where he was. _What_ he was doing, and why, would have to wait.

His memory was not being overly cooperative, however; all it would produce was jumbled sensations, including a familial argument Nick was almost certain had occurred last year. Data overload – which didn’t say much for his mental capacity, he’d only lived nineteen years …

Nick propped himself up on one elbow, flicked his hair out of his eyes, and saw that the room was as wrecked as he felt. Pale splinters covered everything, and a huge cabinet lay just a few feet away. He was facing the remnants of a sliding door, which had been blown apart to reveal a second room. He couldn’t see much, from this angle, but it looked like a bomb had gone off.

This thought, along with the nagging feeling that he shouldn’t have been here in the first place, screamed at Nick to _get out_. But when he tried, his legs wouldn’t move. His feet were trapped underneath a beam, lodged between the upturned cabinet and the wall. 

He braced himself and pulled, heartbeat thudding in his ears, telling himself that this wasn’t happening. But his dreams were never this vivid, never had this foul smell that was rising through the tones of paint and wood dust. One leg came free, but the right was still stuck, and then some thread in his mind snapped. He wrenched blindly at his trapped leg, desperate to escape the awful burning stench and choking dust and whatever horrible thing had happened-

And then the man jumped into the other room.

 

The man was wearing a tight black bodysuit, but Nick was mainly focused on the strange visor covering his eyes. It was a narrow slit and made Nick think of RoboCop, especially as the man straightened and put his hands on his hips.

“Shit.” The man stalked forward, out of Nick’s line of sight, and drew breath sharply. “Oh, _shit_.”

Nick quickly decided that beggars couldn’t be choosers, and if a handsome man appeared in this disaster zone and sounded upset by it, then he must be basically decent. Though with questionable taste in headwear.

“Help!” Nick tried to shout, but it came out as more of a croak. He coughed, scooting forwards to thump on the side of the cabinet. “Help me, I can’t … move.” The last word was whispered as the strange man reappeared, tall and more than a little daunting with his visor glinting red.

“Who the hell are you?” the man asked, frowning down at him.

“Um,” said Nick. “Wrong place at the wrong time?”

The man smirked, a twitch of his mouth that Nick hoped was a good sign. “So I see.” He stepped onto the cabinet and tugged at the beam, but it stayed firm. “Hold still.” The man touched the side of his visor and a brilliant red laser shot out, slicing effortlessly through the beam.

Nick yelped, and bit his tongue before he could cry _mutant!_ His mother’s lessons not to be rude should take precedence over her advice to steer clear of all mutants. This guy was rescuing him, and Nick wanted to keep it that way. Besides, the visor should have warned him.

Laser-man cut through the other end of the beam, lifted it away and Nick was free. Before he could get up, the man crouched beside him and gently moved his foot. The abused ligaments twinged, making Nick wince, but the man nodded with apparent satisfaction.

“Not broken.” He grasped Nick’s arms and pulled him upright, then helped him limp around the cabinet. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“Huh?” Nick stared; he’d been about to ask the same question. Then he realised that his memory had rebooted while he was distracted. “I – there were a couple of old men, arguing … and I hid, cause I’d thought the whole building was empty.” He’d been relying on it being deserted, in fact, so he could poke around the company’s mainframe – but this guy didn’t need to know that.

“Go on.”

“I think … one was asking for more money, but the other said he wanted proof first. Then they got really excited, and-” He stopped, gazing at the far wall where the men had stood. They’d been holding something, and if that had set off the explosion, then they had to be dead. “Oh God.” So those shapes behind the table …

“Don’t, kid.” Laser-man spun Nick around before he could look properly. “Cannot be unseen, and all that.”

“What was it?” said Nick, as they moved towards the door – which was opposite to where the man had arrived, he noticed. Nick twisted his head to look at the gap in the outer wall, and the scattered glass. “Did you come in through the _window?_ ”

“Of course.” The man checked the corridor before they stepped through the doorway. “Your old guys had this … artefact. Very important, but very unstable. They must have tried to activate it, but it blew up in their faces. We were trying to get to it _before_ that.”

“We?” Nick repeated automatically, but that wasn’t the part that concerned him. Laser-man had said _activate_ , and something had happened before the explosion, something painful and beautiful and dazzling – shining on the wall-

“I said _go home_ , kid,” said Laser-man, disrupting his thoughts with a shove that made Nick stagger. “This place is gonna be even more of a war zone soon.”

Nick put his hand against the wall for support and stepped forward, trying to remember what he’d seen, wondering if it was important and if he should even tell the mutant about it. His eyes had been hurting, but he couldn’t look away, as if the light was somehow hypnotic. Then it had formed patterns.

He paused, concentrating, and then someone appeared in front of him, grabbed his shoulders, and the world disintegrated into flames.

 

A moment later there was solid ground beneath his feet again, but his head was spinning so fiercely all Nick could do was hang on to the blurry figure before him and breathe. Then his eyes focused, and he realised that the man’s skin actually was red, and the walls had changed colour.

“ _Jesus_ …” Nick recoiled, stepping back onto his injured leg, which buckled. The red mutant vanished in a fireball and caught him from behind. Pain shot through his arms as Nick leaned his weight on them, easing once he got his feet under him. “Let me go!” he yelled, twisting. “I didn’t do anything!”

“Stop wriggling.” The man yanked Nick’s elbows together, making him cry out. “Or I’ll drop you off outside.”

Nick gulped and obeyed. If they were still in the same building, which looked to be the case, then it would be a long way down.

“ _Really_ , Azazel.” A woman’s voice came from behind, and the steady _rap-rap_ of high heels. “There’s no need to frighten the poor boy.” 

Another hand gripped his arm, and Nick found himself being dragged along after a blonde woman dressed all in white. She turned to face him with an indulgent sort of smile. “You’ve had quite a shock already, haven’t you Nick?”

He started. “How did you-”

“Ssh.” The woman reached up to brush his fringe aside, still holding him with her other hand, and caressed his cheek. “I know a lot of things. But I _don’t_ know what the Crystal showed you before it detonated.” 

She hesitated, looking back the way she’d come. “Cyclops,” she muttered. “Hold him off,” she told the red mutant. “But stay close.” The woman turned to Nick again, flashing her brilliant white teeth. “Let’s take a look, shall we?”

Her grip tightened, and Nick felt something squirming into his mind. It took him a moment to realise it was the woman, doing to him exactly what he did to computers. He reacted instinctively, like any good system faced with a virus, and threw up a firewall around his core. The woman didn’t seem to notice at first, still searching around the edges. Then she brushed up against his barrier, and frowned.

Nick focused on the presence in his mind, and tried to hear what she was thinking. It was hard, so different to talking to computers; her thoughts dashed about chaotically, with no strings of code he could chase down and tweak. But he managed to catch a few phrases: _no depth, I’m inside but – blocked?_

He closed his eyes and concentrated on sending a message, telling himself it was just a query to a database, nothing to fear. _Leave me alone!_

The woman’s thoughts stilled, and Nick sensed her surprise – then her triumph. _There you are._ She slammed against his firewall, and flooded his outer mind with a disorientating tangle of images.

It nearly worked. Nick floundered, feeling his firewall cracking and his peripheral thoughts lost in the maelstrom. Desperate, he pulled everything in as tight as he could, gathered his strength, and pushed outwards.

Someone shrieked, and Nick opened his eyes to see the woman crumpling against the wall, clutching her head, and his hands stretched out towards her. He must have made a noise, for she looked up at him abruptly, and transformed into sparkly glass.

Nick swore and stumbled back until he hit the wall, the impact sending a burst of pain through his head that made his knees tremble. He panted, staring at the woman, wondering what the hell had just happened. He can’t have done it, of course not; this must be some extra mutant power of hers. What had she turned into, anyway – diamond?

She shifted position, grimaced, and looked to the side. “Azazel,” she called, her voice a soft whistle.

Nick followed her gaze, saw two men wrestling with each other, and bolted in the opposite direction. His mind whirled, urging him to get somewhere out of reach, _now_. He glanced behind to check he wasn’t being followed, tripped on something and crashed through the window.

 

Nick fell, screaming, flailing at the empty air for something to save him. Half-blinded by the rush of air, he didn’t notice the red mutant appear and grab at him until he’d gone past. Too slow! A sob burst from his throat, and Nick willed the teleporter to try again. Those two mutants scared him to death, but they were better than actually dying.

Then someone spoke above him, quite calmly. “Hold still, if you please!” 

Nick did so, with difficulty, and felt arms wrap around his torso. There was a _whumph_ , a jerk, and then they weren’t falling but curving upwards. At that moment, it was the best feeling in the world.

He laughed as they swerved around another skyscraper, and he caught a glimpse of their reflection; his rescuer had enormous white wings, and Nick couldn’t help feeling that an angel had just delivered him from the Devil and the White Witch.

The man pressed something hard against his head, and Nick gasped. Then the man shouted for help from some professor, and he realised it was only an earphone. He tried to listen, but the winged man was speaking more quietly and the wind whipped his words away.

“Okay.” The man yelled into Nick’s ear. “I’m taking you to the Professor, he’s just landed. He can protect you.”

They changed direction, and Nick’s relief faded as he heard his rescuer breathing heavily, obviously labouring to keep them both airborne. His arms cut into Nick’s chest as they came out of a dive abruptly, and then the man swore.

“That’s all we need!” he panted, hovering. “Tuck your legs in and hold on!”

They dropped sideways before Nick could ask why, and began to swoop about erratically. Nick’s stomach rebelled, and he quickly shut his eyes, guessing they were dodging the red teleporter. He bent his legs, and felt his ankle throb as he squeezed them together. That sprint down the corridor can’t have helped it, though he hadn’t felt any pain at the time.

The diamond woman’s mind brushed against his, as if she’d been aiming but missed. Nick instantly forgot his physical discomforts, and scrambled to erect his firewall again. His thoughts were sluggish and sore, like he hadn’t yet recovered from whatever he’d done in the building, but he managed it. 

He was working on the fly, here, suddenly needing the safeguards he’d invented one night when he was bored enough to wonder what would happen if a computer could fight back. It had been a bit of fun, playing _what if_ , and now it looked like his life might depend on how well he’d done it. How could one stupid artefact be worth all this fuss?

Nick was so focused on his shaky mental barrier that he barely heard the winged man’s relieved sigh. He opened his eyes when they dived sharply, and saw they were coming down in a square, where a bald man in a wheelchair waited.

His legs snapped out straight as his rescuer swept his wings forward, halting their dive before touching down. Nick landed awkwardly, but the winged man easily kept him upright.

“Hello,” said the bald man, gliding towards them. “My name is Charles Xavier.” His voice was deep, and he seemed to radiate a pleasant dignity.

Nick supposed this must be the Professor, and was immediately ashamed of himself for fussing over his leg. No doubt his central band of long hair was a windswept mess of splinters, too, which – wait. Now he was worrying about his _hair?_ Maybe he was going into shock; he wasn’t normally this disturbed by someone’s lack of hair. Calm down, he told himself, pay attention!

“Thank goodness,” the winged man was saying, as he released his death-grip on Nick. “Azazel and Emma Frost were after him, though Scott isn’t sure-”

“Are you going to hurt me, too?” Nick blurted out.

The Professor looked at him in surprise, and then smiled kindly. “No, child. I’m going to look after you.”

Nick felt such a great rush of relief that it made him light-headed, and the winged man had to steady him. He looked up to see the Professor frown suddenly, his eyes unfocused.

Something went _bang_ just above his head, and then a blow to his shoulder sent Nick crashing to the ground. He turned over to see Azazel bent over him, fingers inches from his legs, frozen in place. He scrambled backwards hastily, but the red teleporter still didn’t move.

The Professor made a frustrated sound. “She’s fighting me,” he muttered. “Warren?” He said no more, just stared intently at Azazel, but the winged man seemed to understand.

“My pleasure,” he replied, stepping close to the red mutant and raising his wings.

Nick didn’t see what happened next; suddenly the diamond woman was in his mind again, and he was transfixed by an excruciating pain. His vision flashed red, and his mental firewall shattered instantly. He could vaguely feel the woman’s presence moving around inside his mind, but was powerless to stop her. Every cell in his body felt like it was on fire.

Then a hand touched his face, and the agony vanished as abruptly as it had come. Nick caught his breath in shock, and realised from his raw throat that he had been screaming. He relaxed onto his elbows, spine easing from its rigid arch, and saw the large metal wheel beside him. The Professor, it seemed, was true to his word.

 _Of course I am._ The Professor sounded amused, not offended, but Nick was still startled; he couldn’t sense anyone in his mind now. Oh God, what if he panicked about his baldness again? Then he _would_ get angry-

 _Technically, I’m_ not _in your mind,_ the Professor explained. _I’m just shielding you. Ms Frost is very strong, however, so I’d rather keep physical contact. Can you stand?_

Nick’s awareness snapped back to his body. He got to his feet slowly, taking the Professor’s hand on his prompting, and leaning on it when he laid it back on the armrest. Azazel was unconscious on the ground, but the winged man had gone.

“Where-” Nick broke off as the Professor glided away, making him stumble backwards after him.

 _Warren is currently distracting Ms Frost so we can get to the ship. Neither of us is in a fit state to prevent her attacking you physically._

“Oh.” Nick switched hands so he could walk forwards instead, with many a nervous glance over his shoulder. There was no sign of Warren or the Frost woman, but no sign of the ship either.

 _Don’t worry,_ the Professor told him. _We’re here._ A ramp lowered towards them out of nowhere, and then Nick saw the outline of a plane behind it, all but invisible thanks to its reflective panels. He barely had time to appreciate this before the Professor led him inside, and sighed aloud as the hatch closed.

“That’s better,” said the Professor. “Now we just have to take off before Azazel wakes up.” He rolled down the aisle to the controls, Nick limping after him and gratefully sinking into a chair once they’d stopped.

“What about the others?” Nick asked.

“I’ll tell Warren to pick up Scott and meet us in the air.” The Professor was busy pressing switches with his free hand, and Nick hoped he could still fly the plane with only one hand. He doubted he could be much help – did this thing even have a computer system? The array of controls looked fascinating but incomprehensible.

“Hmm,” said the Professor, as if responding to something Nick had said. “Yes, your mind is _very_ interesting, Nick. I look forward to getting to know you once things have calmed down a little.”

Nick felt his mouth go dry. “But – I’m not-”

“Nothing special? Just … good with computers?” The Professor paused to give him a stern look, and Nick winced. “Come now,” he continued, tone softening as he pulled a lever and the ship rose. “You haven’t truly believed that for years.”


End file.
